Genius Over Gender

This year's MacArthur award winners include a majority of women

The prestigious MacArthur fellowships are known as "genius grants," but it doesn't take an Einstein to recognize that men have consistently won the bulk of the awards. Now the balance has shifted: 17 of the 33 fellowships for 1992 will go to women.

This year's crop includes the usual eclectic mix of talent. There are scholars, like historians Suzanne Lebsock of Rutgers and Laurel Thatcher Ulrich of the University of New Hampshire. There are creative artists, among them choreographer Twyla Tharp. There are social activists, including Janet Benshoof, a campaigner for women's reproductive rights, and Unita Blackwell, a ^ small-town mayor...